When It Rains It Pours (861 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 1.9 on 23 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Scott James (View user info) at 2004-10-30 13:02:27 EDT
I have always liked the smell of rain.
It reminds me of home. That is why I love the autumn. It reminds me of where I am from.
I like to take long walks in a heavy downpour, especially at night. It reminds me of something I have lost. I can never tell what it is. I will tell you when I have found it.
Six weeks ago I was walking home from work in the early hours of Saturday morning. There were a lot of homeless people on the streets. Some were pawing through the garbage. Others were passed out in shop doorways. One man was begging for money.
Another vagrant further down the street had already cleared me out. I had nothing else to give. As I stood at the crossroads, waiting for a delivery truck to pass, I saw a man in a white suit approach the vagrant. He knelt down beside him and engaged him conversation. Curious, I watched to see how events would unfold. The vagrant was full of life, animatedly describing his day as the man in the white suit listened intently, hardly saying anything in return. Instead, he just listened. After a while, the man in the white suit stood up and patted the vagrant on the shoulder. The vagrant cracked a toothless smile and winked. Then the man in the white suit left.
I thought that was the end of it.
I turned to leave when I heard a cry from behind me, where the vagrant was sitting. I looked and saw that the man in the white suit had returned. He was carrying a loaf of bread and a large bottle of water. He handed them both to the vagrant and said something in a language I could not understand. It was certainly not English. I watched as the vagrant wept at the kindness bestowed upon him. I shifted uncomfortably, as if I should not have been watching, but I could not look away.
Composed and more relaxed, the vagrant rose to his feet so his gaze was level with that of his benefactor. He took the white-suited man's hand in both of his own and shook it firmly. The man in the white suit simply nodded with a slight smile and was quickly on his way.
He passed me as I stood awestruck at the crossroads. I caught a glimpse of his face but still cannot remember what he looked like. All I can remember is that suit.
Later that night I dreamt long and hard.
I saw a construction worker in Israel lament his painful winter-cracked hands until he saw an Arab delivering newspaper bundles... a man with no hands.
I drifted high over the clouds of the Atlantic, looking down on the great continent of North America as Klansmen burned a cross in the yard of a Mississippi civil rights worker. She scared them off... then shepherded her children out to toast marshmallows over the burning cross.
Finally, I found myself at home. My home when I was a child. I am standing in the doorway of the lounge. I see my grandmother. She remembers her own childhood Christmas Eve in a home with no heat. On Christmas morning she found a tree, gifts for all the kids... even heat.
I woke early the next morning and it was raining again. It was still dark. Early winter mornings always are.
I like that. It helps me remember who I am, who I was, and who I wanted to be.
User Reviews
Submitted by Amontillado (user info) at 2006-11-14 19:31:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
bittersweet cloudy memories
Submitted by PrettyBondage (user info) at 2004-11-28 21:19:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
lovely
Submitted by GlitchCowman (user info) at 2004-11-28 21:08:48 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Start posting again Scott!
- Viv.
Submitted by Sideburns (user info) at 2004-11-23 00:56:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by kai070169 (user info) at 2004-11-09 19:32:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
You're on e of my all-time favorite Uberfags. Always something interesting to say...
Submitted by Random <Schmoe> at 2004-10-31 03:33:16 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
sdf
Submitted by ShatteredDreams (user info) at 2004-10-31 01:48:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I hate to ruin the almost perfect score (my ratings don't count because I haven't recieved my validation code yet, anyway) but I thought it was lacking a point.
Submitted by Genko (user info) at 2004-10-31 01:39:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Good, but I was disappointed at it's lack of length.
Submitted by Grim_Hippie (user info) at 2004-10-31 01:29:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Very profound.
Submitted by comicbookguy (user info) at 2004-10-30 22:54:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by chameleon (user info) at 2004-10-30 22:48:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Heartfelt.
Especially that last line.
Submitted by TomcatJess (user info) at 2004-10-30 20:28:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by UlfGabe (user info) at 2004-10-30 19:52:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by FuckTheArmy (user info) at 2004-10-30 19:51:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Welfare policy won't change the world, but this is a little piece of sunshine.
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2004-10-30 19:37:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
A little corner of beauty, in a little corner of Ubersite, in a little corner of the World Wide Web.
Submitted by AlwaysAnEagle (user info) at 2004-10-30 18:24:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I heart this
Submitted by FilthyAssistant (user info) at 2004-10-30 17:08:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Beautiful. More of this Scott.
Submitted by youarsoghey (user info) at 2004-10-30 16:52:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Random Joe at 2004-10-30 16:28:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Yams (user info) at 2004-10-30 15:45:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Jo_of_the_golden_P (user info) at 2004-10-30 15:41:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
wonderfully subtle
Submitted by Tigre (user info) at 2004-10-30 15:27:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
..awesome..absolutly awesome..
Submitted by someone (user info) at 2004-10-30 13:36:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Great for such a small piece.
Submitted by Sepsis (user info) at 2004-10-30 13:18:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by zakalwe (user info) at 2004-10-30 13:15:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Interesting..but left me confused.